Ullapool - 20-22 July 2006 (day 61-63)

Yacht Gothik

At Anchor

Loch Broom

Ullapool

Highland

22 July 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 43.8M

Chart distance: 45M

Time under way: 9h

Thursday 20 July 2006

Today was a continuation of yesterday evening for we were heading overnight to Ullapool from Stornoway. To be sure we slept a little but were up at 2300 (Wednesday) and had cast off by midnight. It was strange being on a night passage again. Strictly speaking there was no need to make this a night passage since the trip could be completed in 9 hours - however, we'd all been hankering for a night sail and thought it would be nice to fit one more in before Ben goes home.

At midnight the sky seemed black - all the darker because of the glare of the street lights - but as we headed away from the town, into the outer harbour (and the realm of the flashing lighthouses) we could clearly see the horizon and a pale patch of sky where the sun would have last been.

I took the first watch. There was not a breath of wind, the engine was on and we were motoring across a flat sea. Several ships were visible, they were all moving perpendicular to our path - the North Minch being a well used shipping lane. Twice I had to alter course before Keith and Ben came on deck at 0300 to mark the the end of an otherwise uneventful watch. Barely any stars had come out in the time and the light was quite strong now.

At 0600 I was back in the cockpit. Keith and Ben retired to their bunks and left me alone in a pink tinged dawn surrounded by little lumps of land - the "Summer Isles". The mainland coast was equally impressive, the mountains of the Coigach and Wester Ross in full view.

Looking south east into the mouth of Loch Broom.

The town of Ullapool sits about four miles from the entrance of Loch Broom. It was founded in the mid-19th century as a fishing town with a view to boosting economic growth in the region. It met with some degree of success and prospered. Today there are not many fishing vessels but it remains a busy port ferrying passengers and cars to the Western Isles.

A seal in the harbour close to the fishing vessels (and free fish).

Keith and Ben on deck. Waiting to drop anchor.

Ullapool

We pumped the dingy up, filled it with ourselves and Ben's luggage and motored ashore. The sun had begun to burn off some of the cloud and the day was turning into a hot one. The timing of our arrival on shore was fortunate; a coach was leaving for Inverness shortly and Ben was able to book his seat before it was full. From Inverness he would take a train to London, then another train to south Wales and then catch a car ride from friends into mid-Wales.

At 10:15 we said our goodbyes... it was a sad moment, Ben had been with us for six weeks - the three of us were working well together and had become a bit of a unit. We'd got used to each other's values, mood swings, farts and sense of humour, we all knew our jobs, duties and place on the boat. Keith and I were now going to have to learn to accommodate a whole new set of values with new people. Our little cosy way of life would change. Our frame of mind was tuned into drifting from place to place - occasionally we would go out in the evening but we had grown to enjoy staying-in, 'at home', on the boat, reading, cooking, chatting. I expect Will and David (the next party of arrivals) will be in a very different frame of mind - they will be ready for an active, exciting holiday with lots of getting out and about.

After Ben had left, Keith and I took a stroll around Ullapool. It's a funny sort of town - it had no sense of uniqueness and contained nothing which seemed special or attractive but it was full of summer visitors (tourists), many of them from outside the UK. As a town though it is well placed as a base from which to move on and explore the surroundings, a fact evident from the very large campsite - with showers and laundry. Just as well since the day turned so warm that we were now in need of a shower.

Friday 21 July 2006

Lazy day today. Read lots and sat in the sunshine. The evening turned out fine and warm.

Saturday 22 July 2006

No pictures today.

Will and his father David arrived this evening. They had driven all the way up to Ullapool from the far south of England and were most in need of some refreshment. The four of us retired to a pub in the town and stood outside in another splendidly warm evening. The smell of food was all around and after a couple of beers I was suddenly starving. It took a while to convince the others that they were also hungry but soon we high tailed our drinks and headed up the road to a hotel restaurant.

The wine was not much cop but the food was truly excellent. It is funny (and sad) that so much effort can be expended on the food but not on the wine list. Fortunately the price of the wine was not too far over the mark as is so often the case. I often wonder if restaurateurs subsidise their more creative dishes with overpriced poor wine in a desperate effort to bring variety and quality to the dinner plate. Good reasonably priced wine is so readily available from suppliers nowadays but sadly not in high street off-licences and supermarkets (at least not with any regularity). It seems we are still a nation who does not know the value of a good wine. Restaurateurs are still able to sell us low quality wine at over inflated prices without fear of us recognising the fact and of reprisal.

Off my horse now - Will and David were in good form. We had been back at the boat for barely five minutes when Will (or 'Pants' as he was affectionately known back home) took a dive off the boat and into the water. Closely followed by David and then Keith. Well I'm a woos I must say. Apart from the water being freezing I was still luxuriating in the fact that my skin had recently been washed in fresh water and that all my clothes were for once clean and salt free. Nope, I did not join them. Both Keith and David quickly decided they'd had enough but Will seems to be made for the wet and the cold and had a jolly old time of it.